About the agency

Robert Smith Literary Agency Limited was set up in 1997 to seek out quality non-fiction authors with original and well researched book ideas. We work closely with our authors to develop their books, so that they have strong editorial and commercial appeal, enabling us to obtain the best possible advances and terms from publishers.

As long-standing members of AAA (The Association of Authors’ Agents), we are up-to-date with the latest industry intelligence to further and protect our authors’ interests.

Agency News

Update 10th August 2018

The first few days of August have been fantastic for the agency and its clients.

Dead In The Water by Penny Farmer, published by John Blake on 9th August, reached No. 4 in Amazon’s top 100 books and No. 1 in several Amazon sub-categories. The centre spread serialisation in The Mail on Sunday on 29th July kicked it off, and an emotional interview with Penny on ITV’s This Morning on 9th August sent the book soaring to new heights. Unsurprisingly, a reprint is underway. We have received great offers for the film / TV rights from a number of prestigious production companies.

Golfinger and Me by Marnie Palmer with Tom Morgan, published by The History Press on 6th August, hasn’t yet hit the same dizzy heights, but, still climbing, it is at No. 38 in the Amazon top 100 today, and No. 1 in several Amazon sub-categories. The Daily Telegraph published a major article on 31st July, and a Sun serialisation followed on 2nd August. It was ecstatically reviewed as “Book of the Week” in the Daily Mail on 10th August. (See the screen shot of Mail Online’s top story.) The reprint is already ordered.

Again, the phones have been ringing with calls from TV production companies.

Legendary journalist Angela Levin’s Harry – Conversations with the Prince, published by John Blake in May, gave us another Amazon bestseller, reaching No. 13 in its top 100. Angela was the chief royal commentator for CNN’s day-long coverage of Harry and Meghan’s wedding, and had written a revealing article for Newsweek, based on her exclusive interviews with Prince Harry, which created headlines around the world.

Agency Highlights in 2018

2017 was again a very successful year for the agency. On the last day before Christmas, we concluded a great deal for James Reed’s The 7 Second CV. Six major publishers were all offering five figure sums. Ebury Press won the auction in an exciting final round. It will be published in January 2019.

Stephen Fulcher’s Catching a Serial Killer, published in 2017, continues to perform well. It reached No. 7 on the Sunday Times listing of General Paperbacks, and has garnered over 225 5* reviews on Amazon. Sales will doubtless be boosted by the ITV documentary on Steve’s remarkable journey in solving two murders of young women, due for transmission in Autumn 2018. And in 2019, there will be a prime-time six-part drama series on a major terrestrial channel, based on Steve’s story.

Our big royal book for 2018 is Harry: Conversations with the Prince by Angela Levin. She followed him in an official capacity for a year, and had two private interviews with him. John Blake publish on 3rd May. Rights already been sold to several territories, including the USA, France and Germany, all for simultaneous publication. Angela has been honoured with her appointment as CNN’s London anchor during the week of Harry and Meghan’s wedding.

Kate Elysia, now in her late 20s, has written No Way Out with John McDonald. Her empowering book describes how this middle-class girl was groomed by Pakistani gangs to endure years of being repeatedly raped, before gathering the strength to bring many of her tormentors to justice. No misery memoir, she explores the cultural, religious and sexual behaviours of these men, and how she developed the psychological skills to pull herself clear from years of degradation and substance abuse to become a psychotherapist advising women similarly entrapped. Ebury Press publish in July 2018.

Goldfinger and Me is the inside story written by John “Goldfinger” Palmer’s widow, Marnie, with Tom Morgan, of the man himself and his top-end crimes, such as his association with the Brink’s-Mat gold bullion robbery and the timeshare scams in Tenerife. The History Press publish in August 2018.

Penny Farmer’s brother and his girlfriend were gruesomely murdered by Silas Boston on a boat off the coast of Belize, while on holiday 40 years ago. Penny’s family, with the help of the police in Manchester and Sacramento, California, had been trying to bring the serial killer to justice, and finally, in 2016, Penny tracked down Boston’s sons, Russell and Vince, through social media. At ages 12 and 13 respectively, they had witnessed their father’s murderous assaults on the young couple. Boston was arrested and arraigned but cheated justice by taking his own life. Penny’s gripping book, Dead in the Water, written with Russell’s cooperation, comes from John Blake in August 2018.

Roberta Kray never disappoints her legion fans of her East End crime thrillers. Now her star is set to rise even higher. The paperback of Survivor was published in February 2018, and she has just delivered her 16th novel for Little, Brown, an absolute cracker of a story, to be published in hardback in November 2018.

Carol Ann Lee’s book about the victims and survivors of the Yorkshire Ripper, Somebody’s Mother, Somebody’s Daughter, based on exclusive first-hand interviews with them, will for the first time focus solely on the women he attacked. TV drama rights were snapped up, almost as soon as we had sold the publication rights to Michael O’Mara, who will publish in March 2019.

Carol’s books are a magnet for TV production companies. Her book on the Jeremy Bamber murders, The Murders at White House Farm (Sidgwick & Jackson, 2015) is currently in production for a psychological thriller TV series, again for a major terrestrial broadcaster.

Future Developments

In the pipeline are books on health, fitness and diet for women, special forces, autobiographies of a business superstar and a legendary living artist, a new book by James Reed, and much more non-fiction.

Media Representation

The agency also has an extensive list of clients, for whom we act over a range of media activities. These include setting up and negotiating contracts for: